The present invention relates, in general, to surgical instruments, and in particular, to a new and useful speculum which has inflatable blades to reduce the discomfort associated with the use of the instrument.
Specula are currently available in plastic and metal varieties. Gynecological patients who are examined using a speculum report pain and discomfort. Further, a speculum having metal blades tends to be cold, further adding to the patient's discomfort. Patients having small or narrow vaginas, pediatric and elderly patients, cancer patients and patients undergoing various treatments such as irradiation, are even more susceptible to the discomfort and pain associated with the use of a speculum.
The discomfort caused by a cold speculum has been addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,317 which teaches the use of a heat insulating pocket over the blades of a speculum for reducing the discomfort associated with heat transfer between the speculum and the patient. Also see U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,409 which teaches the use of soft resilient silicone rubber blade sheaths for the blades of a speculum.
Other references which show various constructions for a speculum include U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,382 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,720.
The use of inflatable tubes and bladders is also noted in the field of medicine but not in the field of speculum construction.
See U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,370 for the disclosure of an inflatable surgical retractor and U.S. Pat. No. 3,168,092 for the disclosure of an inflatable medical probe. U.S. Pat. No. 681,387 (issued in 1901) discloses a squeeze bulb for use in conjunction with a speculum, for dispensing medication while the speculum is in use, but not as part of a speculum.
A need remains for improvements in the construction of the speculum, in particular to reduce pain and discomfort associated with its use.